RCMP are investigating a vehicle fire that happened Sunday evening, a fire that may possibly be linked to a deadly shooting outside the Delta Grand Hotel in Kelowna.Bryon McLuckie
/ CHBC News

Jonathan Bacon, walks in to court in June 2008 to face drug and weapons charges.Rick Collins
/ Vancouver Sun Files

Jonathan Bacon (left) appeared in Abbotsford court last year. He was accompanied by a friend behind him and to the right, who was not identified.Rick Collins
/ Vancouver Sun file

Jonathan Bacon (left) walks out of court on June 6, 2008 after the judge threw out gun and drug charges against him. He was accompanied by Matt Johnston (right), who is now facing charges in the Surrey Six case. The 2008 case is now under appeal.Rick Collins
/ Vancouver Sun files

Jonathan Bacon (left) walks out of court on June 6, 2008 after the judge threw out gun and drug charges against him. He was accompanied by Matt Johnston (right), who is now facing charges in the Surrey Six case. The 2008 case is now under appeal.Rick Collins
/ Vancouver Sun files

Jonathan Bacon (left) walks out of court on June 6, 2008 after the judge threw out gun and drug charges against him. He was accompanied by Matt Johnston (right), who is now facing charges in the Surrey Six case. The 2008 case is now under appeal.Rick Collins
/ Vancouver Sun files

Jonathan Bacon (left) walks out of court on June 6, 2008 after the judge threw out gun and drug charges against him. He was accompanied by Matt Johnston (right), who is now facing charges in the Surrey Six case. The 2008 case is now under appeal.Rick Collins
/ Vancouver Sun files

Bacon, who was out on bail on a series of gun and drug charges, was targeted by a masked gunman about 2:45 p.m.

Five others were wounded in the attack, including Bacon’s close friend and full-patch Hells Angel, Larry Amero, 35, who was in critical condition Sunday night.

Despite the fact the two are in different gangs, Bacon, 30, and Amero, of the White Rock Hells Angels chapter, have been frequently seen together across Metro Vancouver. Port Moody police recently stopped them on a cigarette boat with a man linked to the Independent Soldiers.

Kelowna RCMP Const. Steve Holmes would not confirm the identity of Bacon or the other victims. But The Vancouver Sun confirmed both Bacon and Amero’s names with several contacts.

The Red Scorpions have had a high-profile dispute during the past five years with the rival United Nations gang that has resulted in several shootings, including several fatalities.

Last month, UN member Michael Newman was severely beaten in Kent prison in an attack believed to have been ordered by a Red Scorpion inside the same institution.

Bacon and his two younger brothers, Jarrod and Jamie, grew up in Abbotsford, where they have had frequent run-ins with police.

Jonathan Bacon was shot several times outside the former family home there in 2006, but survived. Jamie, who is in pre-trial custody in the Surrey Six murder case, has been targeted in at least two shootings. Jarrod is also in jail awaiting trial in a drug case.

Several gang experts told The Sun on Sunday that they fear retaliation for the brazen public shooting of such high-profile gangsters.

Holmes said at an RCMP news conference Sunday night that the investigation into the shooting outside the casino at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort is “in its infancy.”

“Clearly, this kind of incident is very rare in Kelowna. However, when it does happen, it is shocking and traumatic to those affected by it and is of concern to those living in this community,” Holmes said. “The public needs to know that swift and extraordinary measures are being taken in order to ensure that those responsible will be found and brought to account before the courts.”

Holmes said a white Porsche SUV with both men and women inside was just leaving through the resort’s front entrance when an unconfirmed number of shooters in a vehicle behind the Porsche opened fire.

“The victim’s vehicle drove a short distance and then stopped,” Holmes said. “A suspect vehicle, a silvery green SUV, left the scene and drove up Cawston Ave. before disappearing in an unknown direction.”

He said all those in the Porsche were hit, with one passenger confirmed dead.

“Police believe that the general public is not at risk,” he said. “Police have not yet made arrests, but are actively investigating as to the identities of those responsible.”

A Calgary man said he was walking on Water street when the saw a man shoot an automatic rifle at a vehicle, leaving it bloody and “full of holes.” He said he saw a man with lots of tattoos and two women get into a Porsche Cayenne at the resort’s front entrance. He then heard the shooting begin.

“I pretty much seen some guy with a mask unload a clip, ran back out here to the sidewalk, ran back in unloading a clip, jumped in a silver Explorer and hoofed it that way,” said the man who refused to provide his name. “At least 30 shots, at least a full clip,” he said. “I went back to look and those guys in the vehicle had blood all over.”

Holmes said the Kelowna RCMP Serious Crime Unit, augmented by a number of officers from other sections, are investigating this incident. He urged people with information, videos or photos from the shooting to call the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300 or Crime Stoppers.

Bacon had been released on $50,000 bail in April 2010 after the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered a new trial on a series of charges laid against him and two others in 2005 that were earlier thrown out. His trial was set to go ahead in Surrey Provincial Court next February.

Both he and his brothers had been the subject of police warnings when the trio were all out of jail in the community. In May 2008, the Gang Task Force urged people to stay away from all three brothers, saying they were marked for death and innocent bystanders might get caught in the cross-fire. After the warnings, several Bacon and Red Scorpion associates were gunned down in a bloody gang war.

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